


Good Nights

by mhunter10



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Bipolar Ian, Bodily Fluids, Drinking, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, M/M, Mental Health Issues, No Dialogue, POV Mickey, Supportive Ian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-18
Updated: 2017-03-18
Packaged: 2018-10-07 00:05:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10347756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mhunter10/pseuds/mhunter10
Summary: Mickey gets some news that causes him to develop a problem that could mess up everything he and Ian have worked for.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Just a sensitive subject I wanted to explore.
> 
> *trigger warning

The first night it happens, Mickey blames it on the booze.

When he first got the news that his father was out of jail, he’d turned straight to his familiar comfort. He killed a bottle of vodka and started in on the whiskey before passing out in the bed. He doesn’t even know when Ian lay down next to him for the night. Ian had been visibly affected by the news too, but he stepped up for Mickey like Mickey had for him all the many times before. They have their own place, they’re fine and things have been good for a long time. Ian is stable and they both have jobs that aren’t totally terrible. Mandy visits them when she can, but for thee most part it’s just them and that’s the way they like it. And all it took was a phone call to fuck that all up. They didn’t talk about it, just tried to go on with their lives as if nothing was wrong. They pretended like there wasn’t a real possibility that they were being tracked. They tried not to think about how stupid it was to stay in Chicago.

To do that, Mickey drank more than usual. He had a few more beers than his usual three or just hit the hard stuff straight out the gate after a particularly rough day. Ian made a comment and he’d snapped at him, so he didn’t say anything now. Instead he made sure he had water and kept him distracted with sex. So, although it’s fucking embarrassing, he isn’t really surprised when they wake up to a wet bed. It happens. The body finds a way to get rid of the alcohol, your image and sheets be damned. Ian is confused, but he helps him change the bedding and they don’t speak about it after.

The second time, though, Mickey doesn’t have an excuse. It’s a week later and he hasn’t been drowning himself in liquor so much, but he wakes up because the sheets are wet under him again. He tries to remember what he’d been dreaming about, but he can’t so he wakes Ian and doesn’t let him talk as they fix it. Ian makes him breakfast and kisses him before leaving for work.

The next time is three days later and this time Mickey is mad. He curses when he feels the lukewarm puddle around him. Ian is curled around him. They’re naked. It’s fucked up. Ian tries to calm him down but that’s the last thing he wants. He’s angry, he doesn’t understand what’s happening. He just needs Ian to shut up with his questions and drop it. It gets heated, as he rips the bedding off and stomps to their combination washer-dryer they were so proud of buying. He knows he’s wrong to push Ian away, but he feels out of control like things are going backwards. In the end, Ian leaves him alone. He decides to stay at his old house until Mickey decides he wants to stop being an asshole. And when he wakes up to a wet bed the next morning, it sucks that Ian isn’t there to help him and tell him it’s fine.

But it’s not fucking fine. Something is wrong. He’s stressed and worried, then the nightmares start. None of it helps. He doesn’t tell his sister and Ian promises he won’t say anything, but he’s worried too. Mickey refuses to put plastic on the bed, and there’s no way in hell he’s wearing diapers again. Ian does some research but he’s not ready to hear it; he doesn’t want to hear that it’s normal and that he’s not broken. He fucking knows, but it doesn’t help so what’s the point? Every night is a gamble. He doesn’t let Ian sleep so close to him. They have sex because that’s the only thing that seems to work, until Mickey thinks too much about his problem to enjoy it. When Ian starts kissing him, he turns over and doesn’t let him touch him. The towel he’s started sleeping on bothers him. More nights than not he wakes up screaming or hyperventilating or fighting off demons that look like his father, and always having wet his side of the bed. It gets to the point where Mickey stops going to sleep. They’re both on edge from lack of rest and getting off. Ian just wants to help but there’s nothing he can do.

The last straw comes when they’re at the Gallagher house. Fiona invites them for dinner to catch up and celebrate her holding down a good job for over two years. She’s seeing a dentist. The kids are so grown they’re not even kids anymore. Even Lip is there and he asks about Mandy with another chick on his lap. The food is good and it feels like old times. He’s been dry a few nights, but only because he wakes himself up every hour to go to the bathroom. He’s exhausted but it’s nice to be around family. He’s so relaxed for once, he falls asleep on the couch during the movie they watch. Ian is on one side but Debbie is on his other side and she feels it first. It’s warm and it spreads into the cushions. It’s definitely not the first time that couch has been pissed on, but she gasps in surprise and soon everyone is not paying attention to the TV anymore. It takes Ian shaking him to get him to wake up, and when he opens his eyes everyone is staring at him with pitying faces. He immediately knows what he’s done and he runs for it. He keeps running, feeling it down his leg and in his pants. He gets all the way to the El before Ian catches up to him. He’s crying and doesn’t try to push him away. Ian hugs him tight and tells him everything will be okay. He doesn’t believe him but he lets him take him home and clean him up. When they get into bed, Ian scoots up close to him and wraps his arms around him.

That night, Mickey dreams his dad drowns him in his own pee, but he doesn’t wet the bed.

The next day they go to a doctor Ian says he found after the first few times. Mickey doesn’t hassle him about it. They run some tests just to be sure there isn’t anything structurally wrong, and they come back clean. It’s in his head, so his body is just reacting. He explains that adult bed wetting is sometimes a relapse from childhood, but is also caused by some trauma. There’s a prescription that’s supposed to help, but he also recommends therapy. Ian holds his hand and is encouraging, reminding him how much it’s helped him with his bipolar disorder. Mickey agrees to go to a few sessions if Ian goes with him. They take their pills together and they seem to be working. Talking about his past and his father and his fears gets easier the more he does it. Soon he’s down to only one or two accidents a week. He and Ian go back to the Gallagher house and explain, Mandy is there this time and everyone is supportive and understanding. It makes Mickey feel good. He let’s Ian touch him again when he’s down to once a week. He sleeps better and gets his sex drive back, which Ian is happy about.

When Mickey has good night’s for three weeks straight, he decides to stop the pills but keeps going to therapy.

And it takes one phone call that his father won’t be a threat anymore for a long, long time to make things good again.


End file.
